NBA Rumors: Why Ego and Immaturity Threaten New York Knicks Season

It's often easy to think that the more talent a team assembles, the easier the path to a championship will be. As we learned with the Miami Heat last season that's not always the case.

It has to be the right mix of 13 players, not just the 13 best players, for a team to be truly successful.

Unfortunately, in most cases you also need talent to win, and when you sign talent, you often get bigger-than-normal egos to come with it as well.

Egos and immaturity often play a big role in the downfall of a talented team, and that certainly could be the case with the New York Knicks.

Let's start with Baron Davis. Davis was signed to be the point guard to lead the Knicks. Then all the Linsanity started and Davis was regulated to backup duty. Davis is a proud guy with an ego. That ego won't be happy coming off the bench for long.

When the ego isn't happy, that's when the immaturity comes out.

Take, for instance, last week's loss to the Toronto Raptors, when an unhappy Davis reportedly waited for Raptors point guard Jose Calderon in the tunnel after a loss in an attempt to fight him after the game.

It's being reported by Alex Raskin that Tyson Chandler had to hold Davis back and drag him away.

Those are distractions that this team just doesn't need.

There's also J.R. Smith, who has had a career filled with immaturity and who's proven throughout his career to not be a chemistry guy. That even prompted a report to come out that Carmelo Anthony was against the Knicks signing Smith in the first place.

Since Mike D'Antoni was replaced with Mike Woodson, everything has been going great in the Big Apple.

But with all of the injuries, times could get tough, and when times get tough, character is one thing that can pull a team out.

That's a big reason why the Knicks need to drop the egos and immaturity now before they become a distraction. Otherwise, they could end up destroying this team.